Before beginning, I’d like to say that I have been inspired by the exceptional blogging of Dominic Armato on his site Skillet Doux. I have been reading Dom’s Top Chef Power Rankings since he started making them and his analysis is first rate.
I have created this little blog as a way of posting my own rankings and not by way of competition with Dom, who is in his own league. Read him first and always and think of my selections as augmentation.
Usually, ranking the Cheftestants before the season begins is extremely difficult, but since the current season (beginning Wed. Dec. 1 @ 9:00PM Eastern on Bravo) matches contestants from previous seasons, there is at least some familiarity with them. In ranking these chefs, I have tried to decide:
1) Who are the best cooks,
2) Who are the most creative cooks,
3) Who reacts the best under pressure,
4) Who can walk the risk/reward line without falling on their face, and
5) Who can play the game best.
1. Richard Blais – the most creative chef in the history of the show, in my opinion. Only a failure of concentration kept him from winning Season 4.
2. Tiffani Faison - a terrific cook. Only her personality shortcomings kept her from winning Season 1 over Harold.
3. Angelo Sosa - a Season 7 find, his nervous personality sometimes overshadowed his great skill and creativity.
4. Marcel Vigneron - portrayed as a villain in Season 2, he was nevertheless an amazing cook and very creative.
5. Dale Talde - Restaurant Wars meltdown in Season 4 kept him from being among the finalists, but he was a great compliment to Blais.
6. Jamie Lauren - Seemed to misunderstand the nature of the contest, but a very soulful cook nonetheless.
7. Jennifer Carroll - Let herself down when she could have really pushed through to win. She should be strong competition here.
8. Tiffany Derry - A surprise in Season 7, her down-home cooking took on a sophistcated touch and took her far. She should last into at least the middle rounds in this competition.
9. Carla Hall - Another terrific down-home cook who perhaps challenged further than one might expect. Has she grown enough to go further?
10. Antonia Lafaso - A terrific cook who got lost in all of the talent of Season 4, she has what it takes to go further than 10th, but the competition level here is very high.
11. Casey Thompson – I don’t have much of a guage on her or how well she will do in this competition, so I have put her lower middle. We’ll see how she does once we have an episode under our belts.
12. Dale Levitski - Performed very well in Season 3 against less than stellar competition. If he could finish 8th or better here, it would be a real accomplishment.
13. Fabio Viviandi - charming personality, good cook. I think, however, that this competition level will hold him back.
14. Michael Isabella - a better cook than some of them listed above him, but is prone to ego problems which should bring him down further than he belongs.
15. Elia Aboumrad - Was lucky to get as far as she did in Season 2 and might just flame out earlier than 14th here.
16. Tre Wilcox - it is unknown if he will excel or fall far short of the mark. I may have to move him further up if he performs well in the first episode.
17. Spike Mendelsohn - the class clown, likes to game-play rather than focus on the food. He makes the show interesting, but it is unlikely he will go very far in this crowd.
18. Stephen Asprinio - From what I've heard, he has not been focussed on food since his Season 2 performance, but he may surprise.
I have created this little blog as a way of posting my own rankings and not by way of competition with Dom, who is in his own league. Read him first and always and think of my selections as augmentation.
Usually, ranking the Cheftestants before the season begins is extremely difficult, but since the current season (beginning Wed. Dec. 1 @ 9:00PM Eastern on Bravo) matches contestants from previous seasons, there is at least some familiarity with them. In ranking these chefs, I have tried to decide:
1) Who are the best cooks,
2) Who are the most creative cooks,
3) Who reacts the best under pressure,
4) Who can walk the risk/reward line without falling on their face, and
5) Who can play the game best.
1. Richard Blais – the most creative chef in the history of the show, in my opinion. Only a failure of concentration kept him from winning Season 4.
2. Tiffani Faison - a terrific cook. Only her personality shortcomings kept her from winning Season 1 over Harold.
3. Angelo Sosa - a Season 7 find, his nervous personality sometimes overshadowed his great skill and creativity.
4. Marcel Vigneron - portrayed as a villain in Season 2, he was nevertheless an amazing cook and very creative.
5. Dale Talde - Restaurant Wars meltdown in Season 4 kept him from being among the finalists, but he was a great compliment to Blais.
6. Jamie Lauren - Seemed to misunderstand the nature of the contest, but a very soulful cook nonetheless.
7. Jennifer Carroll - Let herself down when she could have really pushed through to win. She should be strong competition here.
8. Tiffany Derry - A surprise in Season 7, her down-home cooking took on a sophistcated touch and took her far. She should last into at least the middle rounds in this competition.
9. Carla Hall - Another terrific down-home cook who perhaps challenged further than one might expect. Has she grown enough to go further?
10. Antonia Lafaso - A terrific cook who got lost in all of the talent of Season 4, she has what it takes to go further than 10th, but the competition level here is very high.
11. Casey Thompson – I don’t have much of a guage on her or how well she will do in this competition, so I have put her lower middle. We’ll see how she does once we have an episode under our belts.
12. Dale Levitski - Performed very well in Season 3 against less than stellar competition. If he could finish 8th or better here, it would be a real accomplishment.
13. Fabio Viviandi - charming personality, good cook. I think, however, that this competition level will hold him back.
14. Michael Isabella - a better cook than some of them listed above him, but is prone to ego problems which should bring him down further than he belongs.
15. Elia Aboumrad - Was lucky to get as far as she did in Season 2 and might just flame out earlier than 14th here.
16. Tre Wilcox - it is unknown if he will excel or fall far short of the mark. I may have to move him further up if he performs well in the first episode.
17. Spike Mendelsohn - the class clown, likes to game-play rather than focus on the food. He makes the show interesting, but it is unlikely he will go very far in this crowd.
18. Stephen Asprinio - From what I've heard, he has not been focussed on food since his Season 2 performance, but he may surprise.
